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Global Antimicrobial Resistance Prevention and Control

The rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered a global patient safety issue and a major public health concern. Compounding the threat of AMR, hospital acquired infections further contribute to adverse patient outcomes, and in many instances are caused by highly resistant organisms.

Program Director(s)

Projects

Community acquired antimicrobial resistance (AMR) constitutes an increasingly critical human health threat. We have identified small-scale food-animal production animals (i.e. livestock raised for meat and dairy products), where antimicrobials are regularly used for growth promotion, disease prevention and/or disease treatment, to be associated with community acquired AMR in humans. This study will measure the extent to which AMR spills over from food-animals to young children and elucidate the risk factors that increase AMR transmission. The study will also quantify the biological mechanisms – clonal dissemination versus horizontal gene transfer – that affect the spread of AMR between food-animals and young children.

India Antimicrobial Resistance Detection, Prevention and Control Program

The goal of this project is to support CDC India and the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine to expand infection prevention control (IPC) activities to selected primary health centers in the state. Additionally, we will work with our partners to specifically target reductions in maternal and neonatal infections in currently supported district hospitals.

Here's How We're Making a Difference

To combat the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, PHI is working in India to advance the detection, treatment and prevention of critical drug resistant pathogens. In Tamil Nadu, PHI-India has documented a high prevalence of elevated levels of pathogenic bacteria resistant to antibiotics used as last lines of defense in human medicine among outpatients in district hospitals, indicating that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is likely a critical problem in the state's rural districts.

As a result of this work, the Government of India officially approved the formation of State and District Antimicrobial Resistance Committees to improve AMR surveillance and control, and the first state level AMR committee meeting was held in Chennai. These committees will be essential for the prevention and control of AMR in the state. PHI-India has also convened more than 100 government and private sector physicians to raise awareness about effective infection prevention and control, and they are working to develop a standardized protocol for surveillance of healthcare-associated infections.

Ultimately, the project aims to pilot a program that will be scaled up across the state of Tamil Nadu, India, with potential health implications for the entire population of nearly 80 million people.